Nashville embraces premiere of 'Nashville'

Fans gather to watch debut of prime-time country music soap

Oct. 10, 2012

Teri Remke and Virginia Chilton laugh at Carole Murphey's attempt to hide from a photographer behind a mask of Hayden Panettiere during a premiere party at the Belle Meade Plantation. / Photos by Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

Nashvillepremiere1011 Clare Bowen, who plays Scarlett O'Connor, arrives at the premiere party for the ABC show 'Nashville' at the Belle Meade Plantation with fashion designer Jeff Garner. Larry McCormack/The Tennessean / Larry McCormack

'Nashville' Executive Producer Steve Buchanan speaks about the show at the premiere party at the Belle Meade Plantation.

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After months of buzz and a groundswell of critical praise, “Nashville” came to prime-time television on Wednesday night.

Hours before the hotly anticipated drama was set to introduce a national audience to Music City, Nashville ABC-TV affiliate WKRN held an official premiere party at Belle Meade Plantation, where cast member Clare Bowen and executive producer Steve Buchanan gave guests an idea of what’s ahead.

“We are completely invested in this project,” said Bowen, who plays songwriter and Bluebird Cafe waitress Scarlett O’Connor on the show.

“It’s like a big family. We have (producer and writer) Callie Khouri, who knows the South like the back of her hand, who wrote ‘Thema & Louise,’ writing for us. And we have people like Buddy Miller and T Bone Burnett doing the music. Working with them is like this dream that I didn’t know existed coming true.”

Nashville’s Buchanan gave credit to “an incredible team of people” working to make “Nashville” a reality.

“Now, back in L.A., we have a room of 10 writers who are working on this show each week, every day,” said Buchanan, who is also senior vice president of media and entertainment at Ryman Hospitality Properties.

“There are over 200 people here in Nashville that are on the crew. We have a cast that is expanded at this point to over 20 people. It is an extraordinary machine behind this show.”

Critics have indicated that “Nashville” has the makings of a hit, including TV Guide’s Matt Roush, who wrote “If there’s a consensus most-likely-to-succeed show this fall — or show we’d most like to succeed — it’s ‘Nashville.’”

The program has been featured in major publications from coast to coast, making section cover story slots in USA Today and The New York Times on premiere day.

If the show becomes a TV staple, it might make more than a few new permanent residents in Music City.

“There’s a great love of the city that has developed among our cast members that also has developed with our crew,” Buchanan said.

“The people who have moved here — a lot of them from Los Angeles and other points — who are thinking about relocating here, and thinking about making this their home base because they love the quality of life in Nashville.”